It is evident from the amount of photographs that we took, how much we loved Koh Phi Phi. It was the first place on our trip that we have fallen for so much, that we have sacrificed seeing other places for. Koh Lanta had a door shut on it pretty quickly.

We arrived on Koh Phi Phi Don around mid day, at the end of the pier all of the hotels on the island are advertised, anywhere else we would have been wary of booking this way, but as Phi Phi has no roads, there are plenty of hotel staff at hand to help you carry your packs. We knew that Phi Phi would not be cheap, and the lonely planet advises that simply there is no budget accommodation on the island. Paying 1450 baht a night, got us our own little bungalow in a beach front resort, it was lovely. The pool looked straight out onto the bright blue Andaman Sea.

As we believed we would only be on the island for 3 days, the next morning we headed straight out to climb to the view point

. Now also used as an evacuation site for a tsunami, the viewpoint is situated up a high (and i cant stress enough how high) hill.The climb consisted of steep steps and tough paths that really tested our leg muscles and stamina. It was hot, unbelievably hot, but to save face, i was determined not to let the whole world and his dog over take us on the path. Armed with a large, and thankfully very cold bottle of water, it took us around 40 minutes to reach the view point. All the sweat and looks of wanting to turn back were forgotten instantly when we looked out over Phi Phi from then top. From below, you don't realise quite how narrow the island is, but from above, it is so easy to see how the tsunami caused so much destruction to this thin and flat piece of land.

Stapled to a tree at this point is a photograph that was taken 3 hours after the tsunami hit, its a stark reminder of what happened, and it makes you very thankful that the island has returned to its former, beautiful state. The view is breath taking, nothing would make you stop in your tracks more than this would. We sat up there for while, just taking in the view, and preparing ourselves for the walk down. When all of a sudden we were aware of some men, all striping down to their budgie smugglers and posing, together, on the cliff. It was very strange, and felt kind of sordid to be watching. After our very sweaty hike, we headed back down to sea level and took great advantage of this

. Although the water is not as warm as that on Koh Tao, it certainly isn't cold, and is great to just dive straight in. At this point neither of us realised how much we would come to love the water here.

We booked ourselves a long boat for the next day, to take us around Koh Phi Phi Leh. Phi Phi is actually 2 islands but is commonly just referred to as Phi Phi. It is on Leh that the film the beach was filmed, in Maya bay, and a visit to this was high on our agenda. We began the morning with a quick snorkel in a small bay, the water was a beautiful shade of green, and at this point I didn't realise how disappointed I was to find that there were no fish. After a mini panic attack when I jumped in with the flippers on, and the captain of the long boat was having to throw me a life jacket, (he found it highly amusing) where as I, as Paul would put it, looked like a right Rodney! We sailed by the viking cave, which strangely looks like they believed they were holding the rock up with their bamboo, but who knows, I wouldn't like to be the one who pulled it down to see if they actually where. We then headed into another bay, and wow, my eyes have been opened forever. Who knew that fish could be all these different colours? Paul threw some watermelon into the water just above my head and the fish swarmed around me, it was brilliant, they were all shades, from neon blue and pink to really dark black, and although they don't touch you, they swim so close that even without your face underwater, you can tell that they are beside you.

Our next long boat destination was Maya bay itself, when we pulled up, I was not to sure that we were at the right bay, but Paul assured me that the money shot would be seen when we stepped foot on shore

. Before we did that though we dived in again for a quick snorkel, and had a lot of fun trying to take pictures of the fish with the under-water camera, and then chasing them trying to touch them. Surprisingly though they were all far to quick. Paul was right, the second we stepped foot on shore and turned around, wow there it was! The classic shot. Its gorgeous, the sea is perfect, and without even thinking we just jumped straight in the sea. We had made our way down to the end of the bay where it was a little quieter., there were no rocks or shells where the tide met the beach, you could walk straight in to the turquoise water, it was perfect. It was that night that we decided Koh Phi Phi was the place for us.Koh Lanta would have to wait for another trip, for now we were more than happy to be here, and couldn't think of a better place to celebrate our 6 year anniversary, and Paul is still wondering if his medal has got lost in the post?

The night after our 6 year was a definate pool day. Believe it or not, the whiskey buckets dont leave you feeling so fresh. We headed out to our favorite little Thai restaurant to have a nice sit down meal together. Its amazing food, so rich in taste, yet that isn't reflected in the price. For two of us to eat the bill came to 195 Baht, which is about four pound. It did nt seem right not to toast a drink in honor of our anniversary, so we headed out to one of the bars

. All the bars have special promotions on, so we headed to the one that would offer us a free bucket. Needless to say, one bucket lead to another, but hey, when in Rome! It was the perfect way, and the perfect place to celebrate 6 years, and a day by the pool was more than welcomed. The pool was fabulous, infinity pool at the front, it looked like something out of an expensive holiday brochure, but who would have guessed we would have been staying here whilst backpacking?

There was a huge list of things that we wanted to fit in on Koh Phi Phi, so we looked at our budget, and our time left and fitted them in as best we could. The rest, we shall leave for another time. Top of our list was to Kayak around the island, and that as well was also a bargain. 150 Baht for us both, so we donned our life jackets and a paddle each and began to navigate our way around the outside of the island. I was quite nervous about sailing into a shipping lane, but Paul assured me that here, it wouldn't be a problem. Paul gave himself the role of key shouter, dictating very loudly which way I should paddle. For some reason he reminded me of Micheal Barrymore crossed with the man from Faulty Towers, it was very strange, but a lot of fun, we laughed the whole time. We even came across a swimmer who we threw our water proof camera to, and to my horror he stood up, completely ruining my illusion that we were paddling right out at sea, but instead, I could still see this gentleman's belly button

. We (Correction sorry, Paul) had to pull the kayak back onto the shore once we were done as the tide goes out quite significantly on the island, but it was the perfect opportunity for some photographs.

Sadly, we knew our time on Phi Phi was ending, and there was just one thing left to do, drink from a coconut! Now we were officially on a tropical island. Paul preferred to give it to the cats, but I was determined to squint as I drank. It was the perfect end, to a perfect 6 days, and we cant wait to come Back to Phi Phi. Although we are very excited now for what lies ahead.